Leg rest structure



Dec. 6, 1960 W. T. SCHOLL, SR

LEG REST STRUCTURE I Filed Jan. 28, 1958 INVENTOR. W/zu/m 7. 501041., we.

I I 11/ I /7 2/ "I v-v United States Pate LEG REST STRUCTURE William T. Scholl, Sr., 1300 S. Burkhardt Road,

Evansville, Ind.

Filed Jan. 28, 1958, Ser. No. 711,719

3 Claims. (Cl. 155-469) The present invention relates to leg rest structures and more particularly to a portable leg rest structure which is readily adaptable for use on a dental chair.

As is well known, the conventional dental chair, for example,.includes a footboard supported by and extending from the front thereof. comprises a horizontal platform and a foot rest extending angularly from an end thereof, the foot rest being provided for the patients comfort while sitting in the dental chair.

By virtue of the applicants novel invention, a portable leg rest is provided for use on a dental chair. The portable leg rest is adapted to rest on the footboard between the front of the chair and the foot rest and is retained thereon against lateral movement, in the preferred embodiment, by the side walls thereof which overlap the support members along the sides of the footboard. The portable leg rest has a contour complementary to the shape of the seat of the dental chair. By using the aforesaid novel leg rest structure, the applicant has found that a patient is considerably more relaxed during treatment.

Accordingly, a principal object of the prerent invention is to provide a leg rest adaptable for use on a dental chair.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a leg rest for a dental chair which is portable, which has a contour generally conforming to the seat of the dental chair for the comfort of the patient seated thereon, and which is readily adapted to be retained on the dental chair.

A further and more general object of the invention is to provide a structure which affords support for the legs of a patient seated in a dental chair and thereby induces a more relaxed patient during treatment.

Other objects and a better understanding of the invention will become more apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is a perspective view of the leg rest structure of the instant invention in position on a conventional dental chair;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation, partially fragmentary, showing the applicants leg rest structure positioned on the footboard of the dental chair of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the novel leg rest structure of the instant invention; and

Fig. 4 is a view in vertical section of the leg rest structure of the instant invention, taken at line 4-4 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawing and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the The footboard ordinarily invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

Referring now to Fig. l, a conventional dental chair 10 is disclosed having a base portion 11 supporting a seat 12, arm rests 14, a back rest 15 and a head rest 16, all of which structure is-well known in the art.

Extending downwardly from the front of the dental chair 10 are fixed support arms 19 (only one of which can be seen in Fig. 1) which support a conventional footboard 20. The footboard 20 includes a generally horizontal platform 21 and a foot rest 22 at one end thereof, both of which extend between support arms 19. In the typical dental chair structure, the foot rest 22 of the footboard 20 angles upwardly from the plane of the horizontal platform 21.

Cradled on the footboard 20 of the dental chair It), as best seen Figs. 1, 2 and 4, or separately in Fig. 3, is the applicants novel leg rest structure 25 which comprises a top 25a, sides 25b and 250, a front 25d, a back 25c and a bottom 25]. The top 25a of the leg rest structure 25 has a contour which complements the contour of the seat 12 of the dental chair 10, for reasons to be discussed herebelow, while the back 25e thereof is made to conform in shape to any of the various dental chairs now on the market, i.e. adapted to complement the shape of the front of the seat 12 and the downwardly extending portions of the arm members 19.

In the typical form of the invention, the leg rest 25 may be formed in two general parts, viz. an upholstered upper section made of foam rubber, for example, supported on a top member 28 which is part of a lower boxlike supporting section. As should be apparent from the figures, particularly Fig. 4, the lower boxlike supporting section of the leg rest is arranged so that the sides 25b and 250 of the leg rest 25 extend below a base member 29 of the lower supporting section. When the leg rest structure is positioned on the platform 21 of the footboard 20, the portion of the sides 25b and 250 which extend below base member 29 overlap the arm members 19 extending from the front of the dental chair 10 and, thus, the leg rest 25 is restrained from lateral movement. In the typical embodiment, the leg rest may be completely upholstered on the sides, front and back thereof for decorative effect and the bottom thereof may be finished as desired.

The portable leg rest of the instant invention may be readily positioned on the footboard 21 of the dental chair 10. The front to back dimension of the leg rest 25 is arranged to completely fill the space provided between the front of the chair and the foot rest 22, with the result that the leg rest 25 cannot move in a front to back direction. Moreover, as stated above, any lateral movement of the foot rest 25 is prevented by the reason of the sides 25b and 250 extending below the outwardly extending arm members 19, the top of the arm members 19 and the footboard 20 both serving to support the leg rest 25.

Thus, it should be apparent from the preceding that the applicant has provided a novel portable leg rest which is readily adaptable to be retained on the footboard of a dental chair. The leg rest is arranged so that movement either in a forwardly and backwardly direction, or movement in a lateral direction is prevented.

The applicants novel leg rest is readily portable and easily disposed on its position on the footboard of a dental chair. When in use, the dental patient can easily sit on the seat of the dental chair in the usual manner, and then draw his legs over and onto the leg rest to a position of comfort and relaxation which the applicant respectfully submits is beneficial in treating patients.

The leg rest structure is susceptible to various changes Patented Dec. 6, 1960.

within the spirit of the invention. For example, the contour of the back thereof may be varied to suit any particular style or model of dental chair. In addition, instead of solid side walls, posts or legs could be used for supporting the leg rest onthe frame of the footboard.

Moreover, although the preceding description has been generally directed to the use of the leg rest on a dental chair, as a preferred embodiment, it should be readily apparent and understood that the leg rest may be used on other type chairs having a footboard as, for example, a chair used by a chiropodist. Thus, the above description should be considered as illustrative and not as limit.- ing the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a chair having a footboard extending from the front thereof, said footboard defined by downwardly and outwardly extending arm members having a generally horizontal platform and an upwardly angling foot rest supported thereby, a leg rest structure retained on said platform of said footboard engaging said front of the chair and said foot rest and positioned thereby.

2. In a chair having a footboard extending from the front thereof, said footboard defined by downwardly and outwardly extending arm members having a generally horizontal platform and an upwardly angling foot rest supported thereby, a portable leg rest structure disposed on said platform of said footboard engaging said front of the chair and said foot rest and having side support members which downwardly overlap said arm members, said front of said chair, said foot rest and said side support members serving to position said leg rest structure on said platform.

3. In a chair having a footboard extending from the front thereof, said footboard defined by downwardly and outwardly extending arm members having a generally horizontal platform and an upwardly angling foot rest supported thereby, a portable leg rest structure having a top complementary in shape to the seat of said chair disposed on said platform of said footboard engaging said front of said chair and said foot rest and having side walls which downwardly overlap said arm members, said front of said chair, said foot rest and said side walls serving to position said leg rest structure on said platform.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 186,659 Scholl Nov. 17, 1959 2,603,814 Weber July 22, 1952 2,823,733 Gellin Feb. 18, 1958 

